Discussion related to railroads/trains that show up in TV shows, commercials, movies, literature (books, poems and more), songs, the Internet, and more... Also includes discussion of well-known figures in the railroad industry or the rail enthusiast hobby.

Rbts Stn wrote:I'm told by a "friend" that on Glee last night, the character Rachel moved from Lima, Ohio to NYC.

They showed her getting dropped off (again, I'm told) at a very cute suburban type station, where a 1950's looking train that said OTA on it picked her up and then you saw her departing Grand Central Station in NYC.

Could one take a train from Lima, Ohio to NYC? Would it leave you at Grand Central? I need to report back to my "friend"

Lima is certainly a busy railroad town, however East West service was provided only by the Pennsylvania and Erie railroads. Here is the PRR station that saw service into the Amtrak-era:

Well, "Mad Men" is done for a while, and even if the Finale episode was anti-climatic after the ground breaking Ep12, The New Haven Railroad had a "bit part", but for a production company that prides themselves on their accurate portrayal of life in the '60's. the ball was dropped so far as the New Haven goes.

First, they continue to use a lightweight Coach (possibly a stage set itself) that is hardly ex-New Haven; they could easily build a stage set to replicate the interior of a 4400 MU. While I guess the "brawl" between Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) and his "fling''s" husband could have happened in that alcohol fueled working world back then, the Conductor who broke it up was wearing a Penn Central uniform. That the Conductor took an punch at Pete was a bit "over the top'. Getting "put off" at Harrison could well have happened.

Obviously there will be a Season 6, as Matthew Weiner is under contract to create such; hopefully some intern is reading here and will score some points for him or herself.

"Mr. Weiner, at a railroad discussion site, someone is complaining our railroad car does not look like anything on the New Haven".

In the late 80's a commercial about Chevrolet trucks was filmed. it showed a railroad crew with a Chevy Hi-rail truck and an approaching train, at which time the Hi-rail cleared up just in time to prevent a collision. A real railroader would know that such a situation was nigh impossible (IOW, a train that "sneaks up" on a work crew), and violated several FRA rules. First of all, that crew foreman would have had what's called a "line-up" (in the old days of train order operation) and a time table schedule of all trains on the division/track he worked. A work crew was to be in the clear at least 5 minutes of the train's time of sked'ed arrival. A train also must not leave a scheduled station prior to its timetable schedule, AND he would also normally have a "slow order" train order that required him (the engineer) to contact the gang foreman prior to arrival at a designated milepost and 'Do Not Pass This Point (milepost #) until radio contact with MoW foreman Jones(insert real name), and the Way is Clear", Over". All, of course, designed to prevent such an occurrance.

The commercial was designed to sell Chevy trucks and their abilities (such as moving quickly out of the way, etc.) However, it put the railroads in a bad light and made us look as if we did business in an unsafe manner, when, in fact, such an event rarely happened. And if it did, it was because someone violated the strict Operating Rules. Railroads AND their ticked-off employees alike contacted the networks, Chevrolet, and complained. The commercial was quickly taken off the air!

There is a BBC mini series, Dancing On The Edge, that is presently airing on Starz - in fact, all episodes are available at On-Demand services for those who are into 'binge-viewing'.

The first episode features a Southern Railway (UK) restored steam locomotive with excellent footage of such in action. There are also interior shots of a Sleeping Car (NVRMINWAT goes on there) that appear authentic, and there is a Restaurant Car (likely just a stageset) that depicts service as I recall it when first riding BR in this life during 1960.

I recently saw a rerun of an early Bewitched episode in which Darrin's parents had a fight and Phyllis was going somewhere on a train. Part of an effort to get Phyllis and Frank back together, Samantha put a spell on Phyllis to pull the emergency brake cord. That's where the continuity people messed up, and where I get to the interesting part. The long shots of the train from outside sowed that the power was four F unit locomotives (2 A's and 2 B's). However, when she pulled the cord, they cut to a close up of the drivers on a steam locomotive locking up.

The Man In The High Castle, an Amazon "pay to stream series, is filmed partly in Seattle (convenient; Amazon HQ is there) and includes scenes shot in Seattle Union (not King St) Station. Once upon a time, the UP Seattle-Portland trains ("one a day" when I first got there during 1962) as well as the MILW ("none a day") used the station. It has been preserved as an event center.

The 2nd Tank car was "Damaged" by a dropped concrete block(about 38,000 lbs of concrete block),thatwas enough to compromise the structure of the tank. It was a reminder of what happened to many tank cars at Lac Megantic wreck and fire. The end pieces of the tank did not fail.Note:Both tests had a vacuum applied by a truck used to clean sewers and storm drain.

FYI this is "last season" of new Mythbusters shows on Discovery and Science Channels.